GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The city will up its ante to ArtPrize, sponsoring expanded DASH service as a replacement for the annual exhibition’s ArtBus.

Grand Rapids City Commission on Tuesday, July 9, approved a $27,500 sponsorship of the 19-day ArtPrize, which is scheduled Sept. 18-Oct. 6. The payment includes $15,000 of parking system money in exchange for being named the "preferred parking and mobility partner" featured in ArtPrize visitor guides, and $12,500 to fund more mid-day frequency of Downtown Area Shuttle, or DASH, buses as well as extended evening and weekend hours.

The Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority also will pitch in $12,500 for the extended DASH service.

“We like this a lot because it will start to, or continue to get people accustomed to using the DASH service and become familiar with it, as well as increase our parking revenues,” said Pam Ritsema, the city's managing director of enterprise services.

“Our proceeds far exceed the cost of sponsorship and the cost of the enhanced DASH service.”

The city's parking system last year was a $10,000 sponsor of ArtPrize, which attracted some 400,000 visitors and generated an estimated $150,000 in city parking receipts.

Dubbed “the world’s largest art prize,” ArtPrize debuted in 2009 with financial backing from the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation, which put up the prize money and funded the administrative expense of launching the event. This year's contest promises $560,000 in prize money.

Annual revenue from artist and venue registration fees, merchandise sales and contributions has more than doubled over the past four years from a little over $1.3 million in 2009 to $3.4 million in 2012. Meanwhile, ArtPrize’s annual incurred debt rose from $1.3 million in 2009 to $1.5 million in 2010 before falling to $800,000 in 2011 and $212,000 last year.